After my death our beloved Church abroad will break three ways ... first the Greeks will leave us as they were never a part of us ... then those who live for this world and its glory will go to Moscow ... what will remain will be those souls faithful to Christ and His Church.~St. Philaret of NY

Forum 18 news, which advocates for freedom of religion around the world, lately has been reporting how Russia furiously persecutes and suppresses Muslims [or any religion they can't control].

http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=1879

I showed this article to Konstantin Preobrazhensky, and he offers some insight:
But it is the only possible way to deal with Muslims! They understand only force, nothing more! The way of tolerance is the way of defeat. Maybe you remember how Muslim audience was grinning when Obama told them that America is not an enemy of Islam? In their eyes I have read the following: "Yes, we know that America is not an enemy of Islam! We are the enemy of America, that is the thing!"

This article is biased, a little bit pro-Islamic. In fact, Russia is not only fighting Islam, but is exploiting it, domesticating it. In Russia, there is a lot of Moslem clergy supporting Putin and his policy! Many of them are KGB agents. By the way, the Russian officers, who are fighting Islamic extremists in Caucasus, are Moslems too! And America has never succeeded in making one group of Moslems to fight another group of Moslems.

America does not know and does not understand Islam. For Americans, Muslims are just a part of other numerous immigrants, nothing more. They hope that it is possible to make friends with Islam by the way of tolerance. But Muslims understand tolerance as a weakness and increase their attacks.

Let me give you a recent example. In Afghanistan, in spite of the presence of American troops, the last Christian temple was closed. And American diplomats are praying secretly now. What does it mean? It means that soon we all shall be praying secretly here, in America.

And on the contrary, Russia as a state has emerged in fighting Islam, her neighbor countries, Turkey and Persia. It has conquered a lot of land from them. When Russia was conquering the most problematic North Caucasus, it was granting the local princes the privileges of Russian gentry, and they became true patriots of Russia, fighting for Russia in the wars! The only one Russian general, who acted against dethroning Nicholas the Second in 1917, was a Moslem! His name was Prince of Nakhichevan.

Putin is very strict with Muslims. That is why Russian Muslims respect him! They respect a stiff hand.

Russia has more than a half-millennium's experience of dealing Islam and submitting it. The article says that Russians are fighting Islam. But if so, why does the World Islam support Russia and hate America? In 2005, the World Islamic Conference made Russia its associated member. It was on the peak of the cruel war in Chechnya. The World Islam showed that Russia for them is more important than Chechnya.

That is why Americans want Russians so much to help them in fighting Islamic terrorism! And Russians do not do it, which is natural. Well, they did it once, but in vain! Russian assistance was not appreciated by America! Russian FSB, as you know, has sent some materials to FBI about Tsarnaevs, the Boston terrorists, and FBI has ignored them! Americans are wondering, why. But for me the answer is clear. Because investigating Islamic terrorism may spoil one's career nowadays. Because Obama is a Moslem. It is better not to touch such a hot topic!

I remember this report from a year ago. It is making more sense to me now. It explains about the centuries/decades-old relationship between Russian and the Muslims. It is very revealing and worth reviewing.

Then I asked Sbn. Konstantin: How does the Islamic take-over in America fit in with our Church's end times teachings? or is that not apparent yet?

I think Islam is that very Antichrist of which we have been speaking so much. God has allowed Islam as a punishment for our sins and especially for deviation from Christianity. Moslems do not conceal that they are against Christianity and are killing Christians. Running genocide of them. What other proofs do we need?

Our deviation from Christ is intentional, which makes this sin far more serious. As we all know, the European Union has officially denied to acknowledge Christian roots of European civilization. What does it mean? It means that Europe will not exist anymore. It will be dissolved like the Soviet Union. Europe is doomed to annihilation. And we can see this process with our own eyes.

That is why the Kingdom of Antichrist already exists. It is Islamization.

I believe this. I know the prophecies that "As In Russian Yesterday, So In America Tomorrow". And "Tomorrow" is now here. And I know that the antichrist [spirit] will arise from the middle east.

Eugene Vernikovskiy and Dimitri Gontscharow were elected secretaries for the meeting.

1. General report by the Chairman.
2. Reports by all attending rectors on their parishes.
3. Report by the Pilgrimage Organizing Committee.
4. Report by the Diocesan Treasurer.
5. Report by the Diocesan Secretary.
6. Other.

1. Discussed: Chairman’s report
Met. Agafangel stopped in Cannes, France, on the way to America to serve in the Archangel Michael church, which was recently returned to the ROCA after a lengthy and costly legal process. The secretary of the association attached to the church played a large role in the process and provided the majority of the funds for the legal costs. The church and the parish building were severely damaged before they were returned and many valuable icons, relics and other religious objects were removed. A great number of costly bills were also left unpaid. The association will have to address all these concerns in the courts. Nevertheless, the services were held with great joy and celebration with people from Lyon and other surrounding areas in attendance. Met. Agafangel also visited the Russian section of the cemetery in Cannes which includes a small chapel that remains in the hands of the MP.

Resolved: To congratulate the Cannes parish for their efforts and to pray for their continued success.

The attendees asked about matters at the Holy Ascension parish in Fairfax, VA. The Chairman explained he visited the parish and on Sunday, September 15, there was a general meeting after lunch. All the parishioners had an opportunity to express their opinions and have a frank, open discussion. The Chairman explained to the parishioners that Fr. John Hinton remains the temporary rector with Bishop Joseph on temporary retirement until the ROCA Synod of Bishops issues its final decision at the next meeting in October.

Resolved: The ROCA Synod of Bishops will issue a final decision in October. Until then, Fr. John and Fr. Andrew Frick will minister to the parish.

The Chairman spoke of the possibility of acquiring property in the Holy Land, which would provide a chapel and rooms for pilgrims. The legal and property issues in that part of the world are very complicated, but we should continue looking into it.

Resolved: To support the Synod in this matter and continue gathering funds for the Holy Land.

2. Discussed: Reports by attending rectors
The Chairman explained the establishment of the parish dedicated to the Myrrh-Streaming Women in New York City has not been possible yet. Aleksandra Frankovna Tatyanenko has been named the warden of the proposed parish and she will attend to its establishment.

Bishop Andronik has visited Fr. Andrew Kencis’ St. Vladimir parish in Edmonton, Canada, which is doing quite well. They have a wide range of nationalities in attendance. Bishop Andronik explained renovations at Mountain View continue and they hope to have the dining hall completed before the winter.

Archpriest Vsevolod spoke of his visit to the Holy Trinity parish in Oxnard, CA. Other priests from the diocese have also served there while they do not have a permanent rector. Fr. Vsevolod also plans to visit Fr. Andrew Kencis’ parish in October.

Fr. Gregory Williams announced that the Greek parish in Greenville, North Carolina, which has joined our church will be included in his English-speaking mission. He and other priests in the diocese will try to serve there as often as possible, until a permanent priest is found. Fr. Gregory adds a new parish may be started in the state of Oklahoma.

Resolved: To accept the rectors’ reports.

3. Discussed: Report by the Pilgrimage Organizing Committee
Archpriest Roman Radwan, the rector of the St. George the Victorious church in Nazareth in the Holy Land welcomes pilgrims in the Holy Land. Our church members need to know this and visit his parish during pilgrimages. Tatyana Yemelyanova, a church member in America, is prepared to help organize pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

Resolved: To have Tatyana Yemelyanova head organizing efforts for pilgrimages to the Holy Land and start a website to allow people to sign up and obtain information.

4. Discussed: Report by the Diocesan Treasurer
The diocesan secretary, Dimitri Gontscharow, presented a financial report from 01 JAN – 16 SEP 2013. A financial report from the Syracuse diocese was also reviewed.

Resolved: To accept both financial reports.

5. Discussed: Report by the Diocesan Secretary
Dimitri Gontscharow is no longer able to continue as President of the ROCA Assistance Fund and Secretary/Treasurer of the ROCA Eastern America & New York Diocese and offered his resignation. Dimitri Gontscharow attempted to find someone to assume those duties, but was unable to identify anyone. The Chairman said that in light of this, it may be better to combine all the dioceses in North America into one under the authority of Bishop Andronik. Fr. John Hinton volunteered to take on the duty of the President of the ROCA Assistance Fund.

Resolved: To accept Dimitri Gontscharow’s resignation from the posts of President of the ROCA Assistance Fund and Secretary/Treasurer of the ROCA Eastern America & New York Diocese. To accept Fr. John Hinton’s offer to assume the duties of the President of the ROCA Assistance Fund.
To have the Synod consider the Chairman’s proposal at their next meeting to merge all the dioceses in North America into one under the authority of Bishop Andronik. The posts of Secretary/Treasurer of the ROCA Eastern America & New York Diocese will remain vacant until then. Dimitri Gontscharow will continue to administer those duties in the meanwhile.

6. Discussed: Other
Several attendees provided information on ROAC Bishop Andrew Maklakov and his questionable character and behavior.

Resolved: The Chairman will see that an announcement be issued to church members to avoid contact with Bishop Andrew.

The meeting was concluded at 4:00 PM with the prayer “It is Truly Meet.”

Meeting Chairman
+Agafangel
Metropolitan of Eastern American and New York

... The questionable video features a Christian (Dave) agreeing to embrace the religion of Islam and the Muslim culture by living with a Muslim family for 30 days in Dearborn, Michigan. Dave was required to live, dress and eat as a Muslim, study the Koran daily and participate in Muslim prayer. The video features several instances of Muslim prayer and even a look at a “how to pray in Islam” sheet complete with Dave practicing how to pray and reciting lines such as “I testify that there is no God other than the Almighty” and “I testify that Mohammad is the messenger of God.”
The video is also set up in a manner that portrays non-Muslims as uneducated bigots and Muslims as persecuted victims. At one point in the video, 7th grade students are told that if they hear someone say something wrong about Islam, it is their responsibility to fix it....

• Annual Patronal Feastday of St Xenia with Archbishop Andronik – September 28-29. The Parish will be commemorating our Patron Saint on the last weekend of this month. We are most pleased that Archbishop Andronik will be serving at his Cathedral during the weekend. Vladyka Andronik will lead Hierarchical services on Saturday September 28 with the All-night Vigil at 6:00 pm with Male Choirand Divine Liturgy on Sunday September 29, commencing at 9:30 am with the formal greeting of the Archbishop and reading of the Hours. Especially if you have never attended this greeting and ceremonial vesting by sub-deacons in the middle of the church, please consider coming early. Vladyka Andronik will be assisted by Fr. Deacon Dimitri Dobronravov from our Holy Trinity Parish in Astoria, N.Y, and Fr. Deacon Peter Bushunow from the Holy Ascension Russian parish in Rochester, NY under the Sister Greek Church, Synod in Resistance. Mother Agapia, Abbot of the St. Nicholas Convent, Cleveland, NY will be attending as well. The parish thanks and welcomes all visiting clergy. Confessions will be heard by both Archbishop Andronik and Fr. Oleg during Saturday Vigil, which allows for appropriate time for the clergy and helps the individual properly prepare for both confession and communion.
Immediately following Sunday’s Divine Liturgy, Vladyka Andronik will lead a Moleben and outdoor Cross Procession. All parishioners and guests will then be invited by the Sisterhood to a celebratory luncheon/trapeza in the Parish Hall. Our Patron Saint has allowed for us and others to receive many blessings and miracles including the very existence of our church in Kanata, and we therefore encourage all to make every effort to fully participate both days.http://www.stxenia.ca/en/index.html

A part of the chapter "Heavenly Abodes" from Sergius Nilus' book Great Things in a Nutshell (circa 1905):

Yes, undoubtedly with God there exist heavenly dwelling places, of which He has so many, and which Christ Himself, the Savior of the world, is preparing for all those who call upon His holy name in truth...

...The Lord led me to the Skete of Optina Monastery. In its tranquility, not far from the humble wooden church, are huddled the places of eternal rest of the Skete's men of prayer. Nothing distinguishes this ripe field of God's chosen ones from the surrounding quiet, reclusive world: there is no fence dividing the world of those who have gone from the world of the living; nor are there magnificent headstones with loquacious epitaphs; nor are there weeping willows leaning over the graves, with which the merriment of the cheerful world so loves to overshadow their graves, as a replacement for their tears.

Everything here is in common between the living and the dead, behind the enclosure that separates them from the vanity outside. Yes, and this is understandable: these are the living dead of the monastic vows for whom death is gain; why should they shun their dead? These are swimmers on the stormy sea of life – why should they bar their longed-for way into the calm harbor?

The mystery of one life has departed,the mystery of another has come... They behold something now – unknown to the world, beloved of God. What are they gazing upon now, beyond the deep blue, compassionate caress of the fathomless, limitless, unbounded sky?

The heavenly abodes – and eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (I Cor. 2:9).

“The Myth that the Cold War has ended is the greatest delusion of the West."

Published on FINANCIAL SENSE (http://www.financialsense.com)

Why Trading with Russia and China Is Stupid
By JR Nyquist
Created 1 Apr 2013

Last week I wrote about Boris Berezovsky, the Russian billionaire whose death [1] was being investigated by British authorities. In order to understand Berezovsky’s career as the godfather of Russian capitalism, I asked former KGB officer Konstantin Preobrazhenskiy about Berezovsky’s background. Without the slightest hesitation, he said that Berezovsky was a KGB agent who got his wealth from the Communist Party Soviet Union. He added that all the Russian oligarchs had been created in the same manner. To fully grasp the significance of this revelation, readers should imagine what it would signify if every single American billionaire had been set up in business by the FBI, using money taken from the Democratic Party. What kind of capitalism would be established on this basis? And a further question: what kind of trade system is so established?

Continuing my interview of last week, I put these and other questions to Konstantin Preobrazhenskiy, who once worked as a top advisor to the Soviet KGB’s Directorate “T”. According to Preobrazhenskiy, “Russia is not a country of trade. Imperial Russia before 1917 was such a country. The current Russia and USSR, to which she is an inheritor, is a country of espionage.”

I asked Preobrazhenskiy whether he has shared these insights with U.S. policy-makers. “Oh no,” he said with a laugh. “They run from my opinions.” And why does a former KGB officer (who knows the truth of these things firsthand) get the cold shoulder from those he is trying to warn? The West, says Preobrazhenskiy, is the prisoner of its own wishful thinking. “The Myth that the Cold War has ended is the greatest delusion of the West,” he explained. “Let us ask a simple question: When did the Cold War finish – what date? When the armistice agreement was signed? And who admitted defeat?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“Many believe that the Soviet Union was defeated,” the former KGB officer continued. “But maybe it has only gotten smaller. In fact, I do not see a large difference between the current Russia and the Soviet Union. Especially because some of its former republics – independent on paper – are still governed by the Kremlin; and if you try to approach any passerby on the Russian street and ask him if the Cold War is finished, he will tell you that it is not so, and that the U.S. is running the Cold War against Russia. He knows it from Russian state propaganda.”

Considering researcher Kevin E. Freeman’s theory [2] that America’s economy has been intentionally sabotaged by “rogue elements in Communist China and Russia,” I asked about Russian and Chinese efforts to undermine the U.S. economy through trade. “It is impossible to undermine such a great country as the USA through trade,” said Preobrazhenskiy. “But it is possible to be done through espionage, sabotage and other kinds of secret activities. Both Russia and China know America’s vulnerabilities, and they are exploiting them as much as they can.”

But why would Russia and China do this?

“The same question is asked by the counterintelligence heads of Britain and Germany,” replied the former KGB officer. “In their interviews I feel a sincere misunderstanding: ‘Why are Russian spies distracting us from more important work against Chinese spies and Muslim terrorists? Don’t the Russians know that the Cold War has ended?’ I only grin hearing all this because Russia has very good relations both with the Muslims and the Chinese. There is no wonder that the new President of China, Xi Jinping, made his first visit not to the United States, but to Russia; and Putin has rejected the invitation to come to the United States and made his first visit to Belarus, thus demonstrating the idea of reconstructing the USSR. You are also wondering on what ideological basis Russia is spying against American now. It is done on the basis of anti-Americanism. They now see their goal as depriving the U.S. of its global power status. The basis of this anti-Americanism is the ideology of Eurasianism, invented by the NKVD in the 1920s. Now it has become the official ideology of Russia. It proclaims opposition against America on the basis of friendship with Iran and China.”

I asked the former KGB officer about Russia’s commitment to communism. Is communism really dead? And has capitalism really triumphed?

“Russia has never renounced communism!” Preobrazhenskiy exclaimed. “There is no official document where the Russian authorities would have said, ‘We renounce communism and condemn it.’ There was, of course, an attempt to force the renunciation of communism in 1992, when the court case against the Soviet Communist Party began. But very soon a powerful communist lobby crushed it. And this is not all, as I have learned from Vladimir Bukovsky. The trial of communism was terminated at the request of the West, since the West was so deeply involved in flirting with Soviet communism that if it became publicly known it would have caused a scandal.”

I asked if the continuance of communist power in Russia explained Moscow’s willingness to bury the last Tsar while refusing to bury Lenin.

“Russia’s seeming turn away from communism was nothing but a cosmetic operation,” noted Preobrazhenskiy. “The communists have now repainted themselves as democrats; and besides, now many tourists from communist China are arriving at Moscow – and first of all they rush to see Lenin’s body. Some of them say it is the main point of their coming to Moscow. I have seen huge crowds near Lenin’s tomb. How is it possible to bury Lenin after all this? Oh, how naïve the West is!”

Since Preobrazhenskiy worked for the KGB in the Far East recruiting Chinese and Japanese agents, I couldn’t help asking about a possible military alliance between Russia and China. To this he immediately replied, “This alliance already exists.” I asked on what basis this alliance was formed, given the idea that Russia and China were natural rivals.

“China is an ideological enemy of America,” he said. “It can’t be anything except an adversary. On the other hand, both Russia and China enjoy ideological integrity: devotion to communism and hatred of America. Chinese communists understand that the Russians have to put on a mask of democracy before the naïve West; but before China they don’t need this mask and unmask themselves. Both countries do not publicly declare their anti-American alliance. It is a part of their joint activity of deceiving America. You see, ideological integrity is a sufficient frame for such an alliance. As it is not public, it mostly concerns cooperation in some secret spheres. It is intelligence, first of all, in which they cooperate. I am sure there is some agreement between the intelligence services of both Russia and China for undermining America, but it is kept secret.”

There are some readers who will become angry at reading Preobrazhenskiy’s testimony. But Konstantin Preobrazhenskiy is not alone in making these statements. Others from his world have defected and risked their lives to warn Americans. Yet the story is always the same. Americans don’t want to listen to warning messages. It is our determination, as a people, to believe what is convenient and to accept enemy-generated propaganda about ourselves. We want to invest in Russia and China. We want to believe that capitalism has triumphed. But capitalism is dying right here, right now, on American soil. How do we explain this? Have we properly accounted for what is happening? Our long prosperity has spoiled us. Our wealth has inoculated us from the truth. We have now become a people who prefer pleasant lies to unpleasant truths. We had better wake up. There isn’t much time left.

A Herald and News reader was recently called with an offer to save 25 percent on his next trip to Cancun. Having never been to the Mexican destination, the reader was immediately suspicious. When the message offered the reader a chance to opt out of future messages by pressing “2,” he did exactly that. But that was his mistake. Typically, nefarious telemarketers will use this technique to ensure they have a potential victim. Jeff Manning with the Oregon Attorney General’s Office advises receivers of this call to not engage. Just hang up.

To register for the National Do Not Call Registry, visit donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222.http://www.heraldandnews.com/members/news/inside/article_2b66b606-8e03-11e2-b0d3-0019bb2963f4.html

40 years before the signing of the Act of the RocorMP union, Archimandrite Constantine asked:

Will we maintain our position as the "last Christians"? Or will we be taken up in the stream of the "rebirth" of our Fatherland?

The Frightful Paradox of our Times
by
Archimandrite ConstantineOrthodox Life 1967 [no.3]

As far as Christianity lived under the protection of "him who withholds," [*] the New Testament "Kingdom of Grace" blossomed in full flower, having its enemy, Satan, bound up. The very approach of the Antichrist was put off by the Word of God into the future, indefinitely far away: while the Withholder was in power, there was no place for the Antichrist on the earth. Nonetheless, the Second Coming of Christ, as Judge and Reward-giver, with the transfiguration of everything into a new form of being, lived forcefully in the conscience of every Christian – even in those who, becoming "heterodox," deprived themselves of the fullness of Christianity. As for the Orthodox, one has only to recall the daily morning prayers, when he prays God to lead him through the night of the present life to that radiant day "when the Judge of all will come with glory." And again, the prayer before taking Communion, "Thou Who art to come again to judge the world with justice, grant me also to meet Thee on the clouds, my Maker and Creator, with all Thy Saints." In the very last time, St. John of Kronstadt defined the spiritual fitness of contemporary man namely by this: what place in his conscience does the Dread Judgment occupy? "Ought a holy and chosen flock, that is Orthodox Christians, to live, as we live? And are we walking by faith? Are we living soberly in expectation of the second coming of Christ and of the terrible day of judgment? Do we tremble at the thought of everlasting torments? Do we thirst for eternal bliss? Do we not cling to this transitory life?" (My Life in Christ, I p. 245.)

* ["He who withholds," (II Thess. 2:7) is translated by the Authorized Version as "he who letteth." It is interpreted by the Holy Fathers as referring to the Emperor or Caesar, first of Rome, and later of Byzantium and Russia.]

However, such passion for the earthly to the detriment of the heavenly, by itself, is still not a ruinous dechurchification. This is an ordinary sin of one's will, and its sway over the soul is relatively easy to surmount: it would be enough seriously "to think of one's soul," as they would have said in our old Russia, – and thus a man, and even one wallowing deeply in the earthly, proved capable of coming to himself. The tragedy is in something else, namely in the gradual and unnoticed passing over from sin of one's will to sin of one's intellect, to a frightening sin of one's intellect, frightful to the utmost, in that it voids the very conception of Eternity, in its polar duality of Paradise and Hell. The Second Coming of Christ is then turned naturally into the triumphant crowning by mankind of the perfecting of earthly life accomplished by it, when Heaven itself would somehow come down to the earth, making it into a sort of Earthly Paradise. Something truly unimaginable, if not only to give oneself a clear account of the spiritual decomposition in its real force begotten by Western culture.

The Withholder fell! By this was opened the way for the Antichrist! Satan is set loose!

And what, were we frightened of the Dread Judgment? Did we tremble? Did we throw ourselves on Christ with tears of repentance? Did we cover our heads with dust? . . .

Not at all! What occurred was received as a phenomenon of beneficial growing out of antiquated forms of life, opening the way already for unhindered "progress." Such was the state of mind of our "February." [*] Afterwards we did not even have a chance to "think" of anything and manifest our thoughts in any way, since "October" put us under the drill-mastery of Satanocracy.

*["February" and October" are not only the names of the two revolutions in Russia, but have also become symbols of two different mentalities.]

If someone could "think of this soul," he he hid this within himself, even from those closest to him. . . But let us take a look around us. Doesn't our contemporary "free" world, here already "co-exist" fifty years with the Satanocracy that rules over us, find itself under the charm of "February," beneath its sway everywhere? What does this mean, if not that the end of the "Kingdom of Grace," coming about in a visible catastrophe, found the Christian man spiritually rotted so much that he was unable to realize what was coming to pass! Could one imagine a more frightful paradox: namely in that moment, clearly and precisely noted by the Word of God from time immemorial, when the Dread Judgment, preceded by the coming of the Antichrist, ceases to be an event promised for the undefined future and becomes something presently being realized, – namely in this very moment mankind reveals its inability to become conscious of what is coming about and straight way gives itself over to that Faith in the Lie, of which the Word of God also clearly speaks, but which only now for the first time reveals itself as a definite reality, in its unimaginable monstrosity.

This frightening paradox – who is capable of discerning it? Apparently only those who tasted the reality of satanocracy in their own personal experience!

Mankind, according to all the data, has spiritually rotted to such a degree, that, excluding some exceptional individuals, it dwells in a state which can only be explained by one confrontation: with the sin against the Holy Spirit proclaimed by the Gospel!

In what then is the single chance for the salvation of the world, that is for the postponement of the Dread Judgment, with the return of mankind, for some period of time, anew to the path of History? Of this chance Russia, now dwelling in the clutches of Satanocracy, has not yet uttered her final word. And this is a question not of decades, but of the present day! The events taking shape in the Near East show us that the end of the world is already being effectuated. They reveal the chain of historical events leading to the Dread Judgment, as the Word of God foretells.

The development of contemporary events in the Near East can take on various forms. But it is perfectly clear that if Christ is not in the aggression which is presently being carried out, then the measures planned against it likewise are without Christ. All will continue to bear the obvious stamp of the apocalypse becoming reality.

There is only one escape from this realization of the apocalypse: the capability of contemporary Russia right now, so to say instantaneously, to become aware of herself as the Russia of her millenial history. Then, with God's help, the Russia of Christ will take the place of the presently triumphant kingdom of Satan.

It is clear, of course, that from this point of view the hopelessness of the situation is only deepened by the bustle which now holds the public attention and whose only aim is to legalize the mutual relations between Satan, who continues to be the master of the situation, and the servants of Christ. Both the free world and the communist world are taken up in this task.

Before our eyes flows the drawing together of Christianity not only with other world religious movements but even with atheism itself. As a result of the Vatican Council there exists an official Catholic organization which has as its special task an agreement with atheists. Marked by special success is the activity of one Protestant organization, which took the name of the Apostle Paul. The third international gathering since 1965 is organized by this society – this time in communist territory, in Marienbad. The contemporary "ecumenical" consciousness sympathetically accepts all this as successes in building the future of humanity.

Communism has entered into the life of the world forever and irremovably.

But what sort of future is this? Is is characterized by that slogan, under whose sign the Czechoslovakian government by radio acquainted its people with the activity of the Marienbad gathering: "No road back!" These words express with complete precision the essence of the "dialogue" between communism and Christianity: Communism has entered into the life of the world forever and irremovably – Christianity has no choice except to come to terms with it. The meaning of these terms as a capitulation was clearly revealed in Geneva at a local "dialogue" organized by Protestants: Marxism is conquering the world; understanding this, Christianity has to hasten in coming to terms with it; otherwise it will be too late! We are today in the midst of such an agreement – on the part of the "free" world! The ideological essence of this agreement is already openly put into effect: God as such is abandoned by Christianity; the only value recognized by both sides is "humanity." It is upon this value alone that the future is being built. . .

the Church was enslaved not after the War but just after its "legalization" under Metropolitan Sergius

Thus it goes in the free world. As for the communist world, there is no need to agree theoretically on the coming together of Christ and Belial under the slogan, "From curse to dialogue," as the Marxists designate the mutual talking-shop in the free world. Here the matter concerns the practical accomplishment of that "legalization" of faith under the aegis of Satan, which dream gave birth to the Soviet Church. This bustle occupies the whole facade of Soviet reality and is also deliberately being pushed into the life of Russia abroad. Is there any need to talk of what degree of hopelessness the world's situation has now come to? But here our particular attention cannot but be drawn to what the reader will find in the present issue of "Orthodox Life": the translation of a booklet [*] published by a worthy Greek Churchman who is strongly convinced of the spiritual rebirth taking place at present in Russia. For proof of this he is publishing news collected from Russia of the contemporary miracles occurring there. According to the authors of this news as well as of those who are now publishing it, during the past five years 85% of the intelligentsia have turned to Christ and some do not even fear to let this be known. [According to the authors of this news], the moment is nigh when the empire of Satan will fall, and from the dust will rise the "holy and great Orthodox Kingdom."

We will not stop on the situation of the Orthodox Church in the USSR, as it is portrayed [in the booklet] in the Prologue to these "miracles": the Church was enslaved not after the War but just after its "legalization" under Metropolitan Sergius. After this "concordat," instead of a "legalization" there followed a prolonged persecution of the Church which exceeded all the past in its brutality. The extermination was not carried to its conclusion by force of the fact that the Church became necessary for the struggle with an external enemy – which was why an incomparably easier time began for Christians. This is already all in the distant past in relation to the process of rebirth which stands before the eyes of the publisher of the collection of contemporary miracles. The tone of everything depicted here is radically different from all that is shown both in the free world and in the communist world.

What is before us? A selection of he "last Christians," or the threshold of the mass conversion of Russia, casting off Satanocracy and smashing it to smithereens? Who can say? But what gives hope is not only the optimistic mentality of the gatherer of this material, but also the fact that the accelerating tempo of these miracles themselves takes on a character which is welcomed as a sign of the coming regeneration of the Russian Orthodox Fatherland.

Be this as it may – the essence of the matter does not change. We bear upon ourselves the stamp of chosenness, in as far as we belong to the Church, by the mercy of God remaining faithful to the true Christ. Will we have to maintain our position as the "last Christians," if the end of the world is inevitable? Or will we be taken up in the stream of the rebirth of our Fatherland in Christ, reviving the world? This only the Lord knows. But let there be indelibly written in our hearts in the face of all conditions, the apocalyptic covenant, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Rev. 2:10)

"...And what of the Russian fatherland? Blessed are you, O Russian land, being purified by the fire of suffering. You have gone through the water of baptism, and now you are going through the fire of suffering, and you will yet enter into your repose. At one time Christians gathered with reverence sand from the Colosseum which was drenched with the blood of martyrs. The place of the sufferings and death of the martyrs became sacred and especially revered. And now the whole of Russia is an arena of passion-bearers. Her earth has been sanctified by their blood, her air by the ascent of their souls to heaven. Yea, sacred are you, O Russia. The ancient writer was correct who said that you are the Third Rome, and there will be no fourth ..."http://rocorhistory.blogspot.com/2009/03/meaning-of-russian-diaspora.html

A first question deals with your new position as Bishop of Australia. Why did the Free Serbian Orthodox Church of Australia decide to break communion with the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate?

In the past, the main reason for the separation between the Free Serbian Orthodox Church and Belgrade consisted in the fact that the Communist régime imposed itself on the Patriarchate. There were other reasons too; for example, the Serbs abroad were almost all monarchists. Moreover, the Titoist régime organized expansive libelous campaigns against the Serbs abroad. In 1963, the Free Serbs abroad separated themselves from the Patriarchate, and the Free Serbian Orthodox Church, which was established at that point, gathered the greater part of the faithful in the USA, Canada, and Australia. All of this was accomplished thanks to the money that Serbs abroad raised wholly on their own, without any help from the Patriarchate in Belgrade.

In 1991, after the fall of the Communist régime, there was a reconciliation between the free Serbian Orthodox Church and the Church of Serbia. It was, however, just a liturgical reconciliation: they established mutual communion, but without any form of administrative unification. Two years ago, Belgrade decided to unify the Australian Diocese of the Free Serbian Orthodox Church and the Patriarchal Diocese. This was not accepted by the faithful, partly because of some ecumenist actions of the Patriarchal bishop which were considered contrary to the Orthodox faith. So the Free Serbian communities, basing themselves on the legal statutes of the Free Serbian Orthodox Church of Australia, broke with the Serbian Patriarchate. They elected me as their new Bishop last December, though without my previous consent. Nonetheless, this was undertaken according to the legal statues of the Free Serbian Orthodox Church of Australia. Our monastery, episcopal residence, a summer camp for children, a cemetery, a large conference room, and the largest Orthodox Cathedral in Australia. These churches are served by patriarchal clergy, and for the moment this will remain so; it is not for us to expel them.

In recent decades, your Synod has received various monastic and parish communities from other ecclesiastical jurisdictions. This is the case, for instance, with regard to the historic monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia {ROCOR] in London. How do you account for these acquisitions?

The ROCOR entities that asked to be received by the Synod in Resistance were two monasteries in England (the Brotherhood of St. Edward the Martyr and the Convent of the Annunciation), one in Canada, two parishes in California, and part of a parish in New York that formed a new parish under our Synod. These entities came to us a little bit before the unification between the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate. Various institutions of the old ROCOR did not want to go under the Muscovite jurisdiction in 2007. They refused all of the privileges which could have come to them from the unification, and retreated to our Synod in Resistance or, alternatively, to our Sister Church under Metropolitan Agafangel, which continues the traditions of the old ROCOR, far from communion with Moscow. These entities would have accepted the unification only if the Moscow Patriarchate had withdrawn from the World Council of Churches, if it had renounced ecumenist politics, and if it had clearly condemned its past as a Soviet institution. These communities made, and still make, very notable sacrifices: a good many priests lost their homes, churches and salaries, and they had to search for secular jobs to sustain their families, despite being priests. For the sake of the Orthodox Faith, they did not fear these sacrifices.

You are also the Locums Tenens of the State Church of South Ossetia, which is a borderland claimed both by Russia and Georgia in the ecclesiastical and political worlds. The peak of these conflicts was the poisoning of you predecessor in South Ossetia, some years ago. What is the situation of Orthodoxy in that land, given the grip of Moscow and Tbilisi?

The international community considers South Ossetia part of Georgia, even though the country proclaimed its independence in 1991, at the end of the Soviet dictatorship. We are dealing with a country that lived through more than twenty years of war with Georgia because of its struggle for independence. This situation brought about ethnic cleansing on both sides. The last conflict was in 2008, when South Ossetia was caught in the crossfire between Russia and Georgia on its own soil. The Orthodox churches of South Ossetia proclaimed their independence from the Georgian Patriarchate in 1991, but Moscow continued to consider the region a canonical territory of the Georgian Patriarchate. Tbilisi has also appointed a nominal Bishop for South Osseita, but he cannot go there, as the border is completely closed. In other words, without our Synod, the country would have been without a bishop and without clergy for more than twenty years, even up to this time.

How did your engagement with South Ossetia begin and how it is proceeding?

In the beginning,the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and the Ossetian State, together with the parishes of the country, turned to us , in order to place the situation in our hands. We took over the church there. we consecrated, as head of this Christian community, bishop George (Pukhaev) of Alania, a young Russian monk with Ossetian origins. He literally reconstructed the Orthodox Christian Church in South Ossetia. After more than half a century of Soviet dictatorship, there was not a sole church left open in the entire area. Bishop George was deliberately poisoned, subsequently retiring, despite his young age, because of the devastating damage to his health. He asked me to take his place.

South Ossetia is a missionary area with a population not so much numerous as multi-ethnic: Ossetians (70%), Russians, Georgians, Greeks, Chechens, Armenians, Jews, Circassians, and Turks. Four of our churches are ancient Byzantine buildings, one dating from the 9th century, three from the 11th, and all in a disastrous state of preservation. The others date from the 16th to the present century. No one wants to restore the ancient churches, on account of the political situation. Indeed, I wrote to UNESCO for help, with no result. I also had an official conversation with the head of state, since these churches could be a real opportunity for tourism. In recent times, some money for restoration has arrived from Moscow, thanks to the interest of President Medvedev. As for Russia, Patriarch Kyrill admits that we are the sole Orthodox jurisdiction that can work in that area. He acknowledged this to the South Ossetian ambassador in Moscow.

Today, 05 Aug 2013 year, from the hand ….., Archpriest Paul Adelheim, was murdered by a boy who from his childhood, was a child in his home, whom father Paul gave shelter to him and to his family, and took care of him, putting his efforts towards the boys rehabilitation. Today, once again father Paul was giving his remarks to the young man , when the boy took a knife and struck a fatal blow to his abdomen. Of course father Paul could not resist, as himself he was a disabled person with one leg.God rest the newly departed Archpriest Paul.

Killed on. Paul Adelgeim - ROCA 05.08.2013 twenty-five past six p.m.

One of the best who has ever been in the MP. Many were waiting for me, a sinner, among them that he will ever be with us. But God judged differently. Irreplaceable for all people of the loss. He is one of the few people who replace our sinful world is impossible.

The Kingdom of Heaven! to the newly departed Archpriest Paul! His thoughts and feelings were on the Internet:http://adelgeim.livejournal.com/There he wrote of himself: I was born on August 1, 1938 . After his mother was arrested, he lived in an orphanage, and then with his mother was forced to exile in Kazakhstan, and later was a novice in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. From there, in 1956 he entered the Kiev Theological Seminary. Excluded by abbot Filaret Denisenko for political reasons in 1959 when he was ordained archbishop. Hermogen Golubev made him a deacon in the Tashkent Cathedral. He graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy, was appointed to the Kagan of the Uzbek SSR, a priest in 1964. In 1969 he built a new church, then was arrested, convicted, according to the article. 190 '(slander against the Soviet regime), and was sentenced to three years in prison. In 1971, in connection with the unrest in the ITA Section Kizil-Tepa, he lost his right leg. He was released from prison in 1972 as an invalid. He served in Fergana and Krasnovodsk. Since 1976, he was serving in the Diocese of Pskov. Married, three children, six grandchildren.

Herod Antipas was a client ruler of the Roman Empire. He governed the Galilee from 4 B.C. to 40 A.D., following the death of his grandfather, King Herod the Great. Herod Antipas had entered into an incestuous marriage by wedding Herodias, the niece of his late half-brother, Alexander, and former wife of his brother, Philip Herod I. The scene from the Gospel story is disturbing: Herod Antipas leering at Salome, at the daughter of his new wife. From this flowed a series of events which culminated in the beheading of St. John the Baptist.

Salome married her uncle, Philip Herod II. After he died in 34 A.D., she wed Aristobolus of Chalcis, a son of Herod of Chalcis, another one of her uncles. Aristobolus was the Roman client king of Armenia Minor from 55 to 72 A.D. He ordered the minting of coins bearing Salome’s image. An image follows:

Author: Metropolitan Agafangel incl. September 9, 2013. Published in the ROCA

Served on September 7th and 8th was the first All-Night Vigil and Divine Liturgy (after a 7-year break), at the St. Michael’s Church in Cannes (France). The service was led by the ROCA First Hierarch, Metropolitan Agafangel, concelebrated by Fr. Christo and Hieromonk Damascene, Protodeacons Sergius Vsevolzhsk, German Ivanov-Trinadtsatiy and Eugeniy Doroshin. The choir sang remarkably directed by German Ivanov-Trinadtsatiy (the Archdeacon’s son). There were numerous faithful [praying] and communicants. Glory to our God!

Martyrdom of SS Adrian & Natalia: Life, Service & Akathisttrans. Isaac Lambertsen
A shining (and terrifying) witness to the true value of Christian marriage, this holy couple should be ever-present in the hearts and minds of all. Not just for married couples or adults... their story, read and re-read, was a favorite of our youngest when she was only a ten-year-old. 48 pages.
Item# 2035. (DC: X)Saddle-stitched. $4.50

The account of the suffering and martyrdom of the holy martyrs was translated by the staff of Orthodox Life, Jordanville, NY, and was previously published in Living Orthodoxy, Vol. IV No. 4, and in an earlier edition without the liturgical materials, by the St. John of Kronstadt Press.

Long-delayed May-June Living Orthodoxy is done and will be mailed by mid-week.

A major change in subscription policy: most distribution will henceforth be by e-mailed pdf's (printed copies will continue to be available, but at considerably higher cost). Pdf subscriptions (both domestic and foreign) are now $15/yr (a $7 cut), and may be entered for any number of years. Printed copies (domestic) are now $30/yr (for some time to come still by periodical mail, but eventually by first class mail), and can only be accepted for one year at a time.

My friend, Elizabeth, is a convert presently in an American Greek parish in Dixieland. Her grandfather was a history professor whose master's thesis was the Russian Revolution. The RocorMP union has caught her attention, she has a better understanding of history than most. She told me about a dream she had:

Thu, Sep 5, 2013

I had the strangest vivid dream last night. I went to a new church, it was really big like Hagia Sophia with lots of frescos and mosaics in a vaulted ceiling. It was huge like Hagia Sofia. They had the first part of the service, and then before they started the part for the Last Supper they just stopped and left. The congregation was just shocked and trying to figure out what to do. They were going to find the priests before they left and make them complete the service. Woke up.

On the Feast of the Annunciation in 1965 St. John S&SF ordained Eugene Rose [the future Fr. Seraphim of Platina] as a reader; and he raised Fr. Spyridon to archimandrite. Because of this Fr. Spyridon would say to Fr. Seraphim in later years, "We've been bound together by Archbishop John."

Fr. Spyridon reposed [1984] on the eve of the anniversary of Fr. Seraphim's repose [1982] – by Church reckoning it is the same day, since it was in the evening after Vespers.

AD

AD

THE SISTER CHURCHES

The True Orthodox Churches of Romania, and Bulgaria, and with the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, and with the Synod in Resistance, are called by the Grace of the Lord to coexist in Mysteriological communion.

from §4 of “Schedule of Steps in the Union Process” Feb. 2014

VL AGAFANGEL PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Theotokos and all the Saints: keep our souls unharmed from the destructive influences of globalism, ecumenism, and sergianism, and give all of us the strength to endure the latest onset of persecution of the Church of Christ. Amen

QUOTE

"I have taken you in my arms, and I love you, and I prefer you to my life itself. For the present life is nothing, and my most ardent dream is to spend it with you... I place your love above all things, and nothing would be more bitter or painful to me than to be of a different mind than you.”

St. John Chrysostom

QUOTE

"If we have a good priest (or bishop), we give thanks to God. If a bad one, we endure him".

- old Russian saying

QUOTE

"And here is something to which I would like to draw your attention to – something about which very many do not think about. Father Archimandrite Constantine, whom probably many of you know, the reposed editor of the journal “Orthodox Rus’”, a profound Christian mind, considered that the most terrible among all the achievements of the communists was that the communists created their own false-church, a soviet church which they shoved onto the unfortunate people in place of the genuine Church which went underground into the catacombs. Do not think that I am exaggerating or that Father Constantine was exaggerating!

Once, in the year 1918, a Pan-Russian Church Council was held. At this Council, the entire Pan-Russian Church together with its first holy hierarch, Patriarch Tikhon anathematized, excommunicated from the Church not only the theomachists and godless ones themselves, but also all those who would collaborate with them."

~St. Philaret of NY

QUOTE

"To the Russians abroad, it has been granted to shine in the whole world with the light of Orthodoxy, so that other peoples, seeing their good deeds, might glorify our Father Who is in heaven, and thus obtain salvation for themselves. But if it does not perform this purpose and even abases Orthodoxy by its life, the Diaspora will have before itself two paths: either to be converted to the path of repentance, having acquired forgiveness through prayer to God and being reborn spiritually and to being capable of giving rebirth to our suffering homeland; or else being rejected by God and remaining in banishment, persecuted by everyone, until gradually it will degenerate and disappear from the face of the earth."

from Vladika John's report to the All-Diaspora Sobor in 1938

QUOTE

The apostasy of our times, to a degree unique in Christian history, is proceeding not primarily by false teachings or canonical deviations, but rather by a false understanding of Orthodoxy on the part of those who may even be perfectly Orthodox in their dogmatic teaching and canonical situation. A correct "Orthodoxy" deprived of the Spirit of true Christianity—this is the meaning of Sergianism, and it cannot be fought by calling it a "heresy," which it is not, nor by detailing its canonical irregularities, which are only incidental to something much more important.

- Russia's Catacomb Saints

QUOTE

Let it not be thought, however, that I affirm that it is necessary to prize every peace. For I know that there is a splendid disagreement and the most destructive unanimity. Yet one must love a good peace which has a good purpose: unity with God.

-St. Gregory the Theologian

QUOTE

... To pious Christians the fact that the world has fallen into godlessness is to them obvious, and they are ready to see it as an unfortunate historical inevitability ...

Professor Viktor Trostinkov

QUOTE

If you want to have assurance that you are saved, repent now that you are young and healthy and it is manifest that you left sin while you were still able to sin. But if you persevere in sin into your old age, why then you did not leave sin, but rather sin left you.

St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain

QUOTE

Live in peace not only with your friends, but also with your enemies; but only your personal enemies, and not the enemies of God.

St. Theodosius of the Kiev Caves

QUOTE

Judge not according to appearances, but judge righteous judgment.

St. John 7:24

QUOTE

"If Russia is not ressurrected, a new Golgotha threatens the whole world."

Priest Vladimir Evsukoff 1980†

QUOTE

A man who does not express a desire to link himself to the latest of the saints (in time) in all love and humility owing to a certain distrust in himself, will never be linked to the preceding saints and will not be admitted to their succession, even though he thinks he possesses all possible faith and love for God and for all His saints. He will be cast out of their midst, as one who refused to take humbly the place allotted to him by God before all time, and to link himself to that latest saint (in time) as God had disposed.

St. Symeon the New Theologian

QUOTE

SCOBA, to which world orthodoxy gives such great significance, reproaching us for not belonging to it, actually is in no way a canonical organ. The Russian Church Outside of Russia was invited to take part in these conferences; however, our Church refused to send representatives there after clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate were invited. "We never and nowhere will sit at one table with them; by this our spiritual communion with the Universal Church is not broken."

Archpriest George Grabbe 1969

QUOTE

"Let us always thank the Lord that we are in the Holy Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which throughout the 80 years of its existence has trodden the straight, royal path of God, without ever turning aside and losing its way."

QUOTE

The passions lying hidden in the soul provide the demons with the means of arousing impassioned thoughts in us. Then, fighting the intellect through these thoughts, they force it to give its assent to sin. When it has been overcome, they lead it to sin in the mind; and when this has been done they induce it, captive as it is, to commit the sin in action. Having thus desolated the soul by means of these thoughts, the demons then retreat, taking the thoughts with them, and only the spectre or idol of sin remains in the intellect. Referring to this our Lord says, 'When you see the abominable idol of desolation standing in the holy place (let him who reads understand)... (Matt 24:15). For man's intellect is a holy place and a temple of God in which the demons, having desolated the soul by impassioned thoughts, set up the idol of sin. That these things have already taken place in history no one, I think, who has read Josephus will doubt; though some say that they will also come to pass in the time of the Antichrist.

Philokalia

QUOTE

There are three things that impel us towards what is holy: natural instincts, angelic powers, and probity of intention. Natural instincts impel us, when, for example, we do to others what we would wish them to do to us (cf. Luke 6:31), or when we see someone suffering deprivation or in need and naturally feel compassion. Angelic powers impel us when, being ourselves impelled to something worthwhile, we find we are providentially helped and guided. We are impelled by probity of intention when, discriminating between good and evil, we choose the good.

Philokalia

QUOTE

The outward Gospel of social idealism is a symptom of loss of faith.

Fr. Seraphim Rose

QUOTE

Impurity of intellect consists first in having false knowledge, ...

Philokalia

QUOTE

Isn't Marx really the third of a trio with Darwin and Freud as a practical source in the war against revealed truth?

Fr. Seraphim Rose

Letters, 1972

QUOTE

QUOTE

To: ROCA members from the MP

"You have to understand that you have long been in a false church, which implants in its members' souls, a false spirituality, which in turn takes root and grows stronger and stronger, the longer a man stays in it."

Bishop Athanasius, 2014

QUOTE

Mankind has gone mad, and we see with horror the abyss into which it is being drawn. Let us lay aside every worldly care, and let us fall down in prayer and readiness for the dread Judgment of the Lord. Death will not come with bombs and poisons. Death has already come and take up residence with us and in us, and has made corpses of us, Mammon has overwhelmed this sinful world, which is dominated by Queen Science, Lucifer himself, which with one hand makes medicines and machines for man's foolish happiness and with the other terrorizes him by means of the bomb! Such is the sorry state of knowledge and the agony of the world through and through. Let us lift up our hearts.

-Photios Kontoglou (†1965) letter to Dr. Cavarnos dated 5/10/57

QUOTE

"Psychopaths are a superior subspecies. We transcend humanity. We are Nature's Supermen. We deserve the subservience and availability of everyone around us. Luckily, every year 100-million people are born throughout the world. We have 100-million new choices every year."

-Sam Vaknin, self-realized psychopath

QUOTE

Our Saviour placed the Church in the world in order to save the world, and Satan is always trying to place the world into the Church in order to destroy the Church.

attributed to Desert Fathers

QUOTE

"If you see lying and hypocrisy, expose them in front of all, even if they are clothed inpurple and fine linen."

HALL OF SHAME

WE TRANSFER

Trustworthy File Transfer Service

REPORT CELL SPAM

DISCLAIMER

This is a privately owned blog. It is not and has never been an official organ of any ecclesiastical organization.

"No one man, or group of men, can himself speak for the Church of Christ. It is nonetheless possible to speak from within the Church, in conformity with Orthodox tradition; and it is this that we shall attempt to do."